Supports civil unions and equal rights for gay partners
In Minnesota, we have a provision that defines marriage as between a man a woman, and that’s never been seriously challenged. I also believe we need to be fair to people and not discriminate against them. I don’t have a problem with civil unions.
When a partner is in the hospital, they should be able to be there. And to inherit money from them, and have the same kinds of rights.
We don’t need a constitutional amendment on this, and we certainly don’t need an amendment that would ban people’s equal rights. There have been some unforeseen consequences when these sorts of laws have passed.
ENDA: prohibit employment discrimination for gays.
Klobuchar signed H.R.3017&S.1584
Prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity by covered entities (employers, employment agencies, labor organizations, or joint labor-management committees). Prohibits preferential treatment or quotas. Allows only disparate treatment claims. Prohibits related retaliation.
Makes this Act inapplicable to:
religious organizations; and
the relationship between the United States and members of the Armed Forces.
Source: Employment Non-Discrimination Act 09-HR3017 on Jun 24, 2009
Prohibit sexual-identity discrimination at schools.
Klobuchar signed Student Non-Discrimination Act
Student Non-Discrimination Act of 2011:
Prohibits public school students from being excluded from participating in, or subject to discrimination under, any federally-assisted educational program on the basis of their actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity or that of their associates.
Considers harassment to be a form of discrimination.
Prohibits retaliation against anyone for opposing conduct they reasonably believe to be unlawful under this Act.
Authorizes federal departments and agencies to enforce these prohibitions by cutting off the educational assistance of recipients found to be violating them.
Allows an aggrieved individual to assert a violation of this Act in a judicial proceeding and recover reasonable attorney's fees should they prevail.
Deems a state's receipt of federal educational assistance for a program to constitute a waiver of sovereign immunity for conduct prohibited under this Act regarding such program.
Klobuchar co-sponsored re-introducing the Equal Rights Amendment
A joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States relative to equal rights for men and women, which shall be part of the Constitution when ratified by the legislatures of 3/4 of the States:
Section 1.Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.
Section 2.The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.
Section 3.This article shall take effect 2 years after the date of ratification.
Sen. KENNEDY. "It's a privilege to join my colleagues in reintroducing the Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution. The ERA is essential to guarantee that the freedoms protected by our Constitution apply equally to men and women. From the beginning of our history as a Nation, women have had to wage a constant, long and difficult battle to win the same basic rights granted to men. That battle goes on
today, since discrimination still continues in many ways.
"Despite passage of the Equal Pay Act & the Civil Rights Act in the 1960s, discrimination against women continues to permeate the workforce and many areas of the economy. Today, women earn about 77 cents for each dollar earned by men, and the gap is even greater for women of color. More than 60% of working women are still clustered in a narrow range of traditionally female, traditionally low-paying occupations, and female-headed households continue to dominate the bottom rungs of the economic ladder.
"A stronger effort is clearly needed to finally live up to our commitment of full equality. The ERA alone cannot remedy all discrimination, but it will clearly strengthen the ongoing efforts of women across the country to obtain equal treatment.
"We know from the failed ratification experiences of the past that amending the Constitution to include the ERA will not be easy to achieve. But the women of America deserve no less."
Source: Equal Rights Amendment (S.J.RES.10/H.J.RES.40) 2007-SJR10 on Mar 29, 2007
